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The trial of Msgr. William J. Lynn and Rev. James J. Brennan in Philadelphia was complex and lengthy, and its conclusion was a watershed event: the first conviction of a church official for child endangerment. During the trial, witnesses and exhibits provided the jury with information on 21 other accused priests whom Lynn had managed.

We have provided two resources for understanding the trial and the evidence that has been presented during it. On this page, we offer a day-by-day list of the witnesses, evidence, and courtroom discussions, with links to articles by journalists who were present at the trial and filed detailed accounts. The mainstays are John P. Martin and Joseph A. Slobodzian of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Maryclaire Dale and Joann Loviglio of the Associated Press, and Ralph Cipriano of the Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog sponsored by The Beasley Firm. Many other reporters covered the trial, and we have included selections of their work. We have emphasized the longer accounts. The men and women of the press deserve everyone's sincere thanks for their dedicated and able reporting during this epic trial.

We also provide, on a separate webpage, a day-by-day outline of the topics and persons in the trial to complement the chronological narrative offered on this page. The outline of topics and persons is linked to the narrative below.

Our narrative begins with a table of contents providing single-line summaries of the trial week-by-week. Click on any week, and you jump down the webpage to that week, where resources (marked >), summaries of court events (marked •), and links to articles (marked -) are provided for each day.

Names in purple are defendants and other accused priests. Names in bolded black are material witnesses and others involved in the trial. Red indicates the names of survivors. Billy, James, and Mark are the names used in the original report and presentment to identify survivors of alleged abuse by Avery (Billy and James) and Brennan (Mark). Survivors' names in single quotes (e.g., 'Timmy', a survivor of abuse by Fr. Gana) are pseudonyms used in the 2005 Grand Jury report. When we were able to match a witness at the trial with a survivor discussed in the Grand Jury report, we used the pseudonym from the report in our narrative. If we were not able to find an already-established pseudonym, we identified the survivor with a description (e.g., Altar Boy #1, a Trauger survivor). See our Topics and Persons page for a list of the survivors who testified at the trial.

The Lynn trial is of lasting significance because of its guilty verdict, and because the record of the trial contains a dramatic analysis for a single archdiocese of the two crimes that constitute the ongoing sex abuse crisis: a) the sexual abuse of children by priests and b) the enabling and cover-up of the abuse. The testimony and court exhibits of the trial will be a major and historic addition to the 2005 Philadlphia Grand Jury report. The trial record and report together will document the abuse and managerial offenses in a compelling and unprecedented way. They will help the Catholic church and society at large make the changes that are urgently needed to protect children.

NOTE: We do not endorse the views of any of the excellent journalists whose work is linked here or vouch for the accuracy of their reporting. We have tried to find and link all the eye-witness narratives of the trial, but we have surely missed some important ones. Please email us a link if you know of a missing report that we should include. We have generally restricted this resource to eye-witness reporting and have not included commentary.

June 4 – Monday [See also our trial page organized by person and topic.]
• Jury Deliberations Continue - Day 2
• Jury Asks for Definitions of Attempted Rape (Force or the Threat of Force) and Rape
• Jury Asks to See All the Trial Evidence Relating to Avery
• Judge Sarmina Confirms That Verdicts Must Be Returned at the Same Time, Not Piecemeal
• Jury Asks if a Conspiracy Involving Lynn Had to Include Avery AND Others in the Archdiocese
• Judge Sarmina, Prosecutors, and Defense Attorneys Discussed the Conspiracy Question Away from the Jury
• Judge Sarmina Instructs Jury That Avery Needn't Be a Co-Conspirator, but the Overt Act Required in Conspiracy Law Must Involve Him
- Jurors Ask about Rape, Conspiracy Charges, by John P. Martin and Joseph A. Slobodzian, Philadelphia Inquirer (6/4/12) cache
- Arguments over Charge in Philly Priest-Abuse Trial, by Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press (6/4/12) cache
- Jury in Sex Abuse Case Has Plenty of Questions, by Ralph Cipriano, Priest Abuse Trial Blog (June 4, 2012) cache